Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-04-28
INSTRUCTION FOR GIRLS.
A Simple Means OF Improving the Condition
of Young Working Women.

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INSTRUCTION FOR GIRLS.
Simple Means OF Improving the Condition
of Young Working-Women.
The frugal, self-sustaining, proud
poor, who form a large and important
proportion of the community, are
obliged, with scarcely an exception, to
place their children. both boys and
girls. at some lucrative employment at
an early age. If they are not obliged
to do this from actual, immediate ne
cessity, they are constrained to so place
them in order to compass the highly
commendable and invariably needed
provision for the legendary rainy day
and for the time when they can no
longer toll for the means of support.
Girls who leave school at from twelve
to fourteen years of age to go TO the
box factory, the artifcial-fower maker s
or to learn stenOgraphy and type
writing in order to fit themselves for
office-work, going from their homes, as
they must. during the very early morn
ing hours-for IL number of months in
the year even before tisyet Highland
not returning until the evening. when
both they and their mothers are weary,
have no opportunity to learn even
what their mothers could teach them
(Which would be at best but scant in
formation, having most of them in
youth been placed much as their
daughters are) of the duties which
belong naturally to women And so it
transpires that these girls have no
means of learning common household
economy, thrift and order, with which
one room can be made n place of COM
fort and cheer, and without which u
mansion must be but dreary abiding
place. A large number of these girls
as they come into womanhOod marry
and become housekeepers, with no idea
whatever, in the very nature of things,
of the best way to accomplish the thou
sand and one details of everyday
living, each one of which are as impor-
tant as are the seemingly insignificant
bolts and pins of Il great machine How
evergOod the intention, however earnest
the effort, such women must work against
the odds of ignorance for Il long time
in fact, often until health and strength
give way-before they will have learned
from experience to do indifferently
well-and even then not without d
great waste of time, energy and ma
terial-that which devolves upon them.
In the Eastern cities those anxious
for the alienation, lettering and eleva-
ton of their kind have formed a series
of classes throughout those portions of
these cities where the homes of shop
and factory girls are located, and in a
pleasant, CHEEKY room, fitted up for
the purpose, have established q class
one evening each week, where a COM
petent teacher gives instruction, in the
form of bright, informal talks, as to
the best way to do the simple, common
things, upon the well-dOing of which
so much of the comfort and good of
life depends. For instance, instruction
is given in the small matter of how 10
build IA fire properly without the use of
the death-dealing coal-oil can, how to
make broom last well, and so on, up
to what to do in case of accident. All
those wise little economies of which
the poor, who need them so much, are
almost wholly ignorant, and which
make the difference at the end of the
year between comfort and something
saved and desolate discomfort and I'M
paid accounts, are taught These
classes have been pronounced sue
cess where they have been organized
The girls, by questions and the closest
attention, avail themselves of all the
information offered, and seem fully TO
realize the practical value of it There
has yet been no work of this kind done
anywhere. There certainly is great
field for such effort everywhere.
Industrial education is laying sure
foundation for reform and great good
in this direction in the more distant fu-
| ture but movement which looks to
the instruction of working-giFls as
| they are now must meet the needs OF
the present and the near futUre--AE-
| toissette con Hoesen WGkenGE, IN CbS-
| cago Times.
1 Tors - nj